A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

about to open it, but stopped.
Behind the door, she heard muted voices, their pitch rising, and sensed
something wrong. It was her mother, arguing. She listened closely, and heard
her father’s voice. They were fighting. But why?
    Gwen
knew she should not be listening—but she could not help herself. She reached
out and gently pushed open the heavy oak door, grabbing it by its iron knocker.
She opened it just a crack and listened.
    “He
won’t stay in my house,” her mother snapped, on edge.
    “You
rush to judgment, when you don’t even know the entire story.”
    “I
know the story,” she snapped back. “Enough of it.”
    Gwen
heard venom in her mother’s voice, and was taken aback. She rarely heard her
parents fight—just a few times in her life—and had never heard her mother so
worked up. She could not understand why.
    “He
will stay in the barracks, with the other boys. I do not want him under my
roof. Do you understand?” she pressed.
    “It
is a big castle,” her father spat back. “His presence will not be noticed by
you.”
    “I
don’t care if it is noticed or not. I don’t want him here. He’s your problem.
It was you who chose to bring him in.”
    “You
are not so innocent, either,” her father retorted.
    She
heard footsteps, watched her father strut across the room and out the door on
the other side, slamming it behind him so hard that the room shook. Her mother
stood there, alone in the center of the room, and began to cry.
    Gwen
felt terrible. She didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, she thought it best
to slip away, but on the other, she couldn’t stand the sight of her mother
crying, couldn’t stand to leave her there like that. She also, for the life of
her, could not understand what they were arguing about. She assumed they were
arguing about Thor. But why? Why would her mother even care? Dozens of people
lived in the castle.
    Gwen
couldn’t bring herself to just walk away, not with her mother in that state.
She had to comfort her. She reached up and gently pushed the door open.
    It
creaked, and her mother wheeled, caught off guard. She scowled back.
    “Do
you not knock?” she snapped. Gwen could see how upset she was, and felt
terrible.
    “What’s
wrong mother?” Gwen asked, walking towards her gently. “I don’t mean to pry,
but I heard you arguing with father.”
    “You
are right: you shouldn’t pry,” her mother retorted.
    Gwen
was surprised: her mother was often a handful, but was rarely like this. The
force of her anger made Gwen stop in her tracks, a few feet away, unsure.
    “Is
it about the new boy? Thor?” she asked.
    Her
mother turned and looked away, wiping a tear.
    “I
don’t understand,” Gwen pressed. “Why would you care where he stayed?”
    “My
matters are of no concern to you,” she said coldly, clearly wanting to end the
matter. “What do you want? Why have you come here?”
    Gwen
was nervous now. She wanted her mother to tell her everything about Thor, but
she couldn’t have picked a worse moment. She cleared her throat, hesitant.
    “I…actually
wanted to ask you about him. What do you know of him?”
    Her
mother turned and narrowed her eyes at her, suspicious.
    “Why?”
she asked, with deadly seriousness. Gwen could feel her summing her up, looking
right through her, and seeing with her uncanny perception that Gwen liked him.
She tried to hide her feelings, but knew it was no use.
    “I’m
just curious,” she said, unconvincingly.
    Suddenly,
the queen took three steps towards her, grabbed her arms roughly, and stared
into her face.
    “Listen
to me,” she hissed. “I’m only going to say this once. Stay away from that boy.
Do you hear me? I don’t want you anywhere near him, under any circumstance.”
    Gwen
was horrified.
    “But
why? He’s a hero.”
    “He
is not one of us,” her mother answered. “Despite what your father might think.
I want you to keep away from him. Do you hear me? Vow to me. Vow to me right
now.”
    “I
will not vow,” Gwen said, yanking her arm away from her mother’s too-strong
grip.
    “He
is a commoner, and you are Princess,” her mother yelled. “You are a Princess .
Do you understand? If you go anywhere near him, I will have him exiled from
here. Do you understand?”
    Gwen
hardly knew how to respond. She had never seen her mother like this.
    “Do
not tell me what to do, mother,” she said, finally.
    Gwen
did her best to put on a brave voice, but deep inside she was trembling.